1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to smart card use in transit systems, and more specifically to a system for allowing patrons to have values automatically loaded onto their smart cards.
2. Background
The use of fare cards in mass transit systems has reached record levels with the introduction of free transfers, unlimited passes, and fare pricing systems based on distance traveled, time of day, and user categorization including age and frequent user. Automatic fare collection (AFC) presents several advantages over person-to-person cash exchanges including reduced operating costs based upon a decrease in required personnel, automation of system accounting, and improved convenience and safety for commuters by the elimination of ticket window lines and ticket purchases for each transit system ride.
Fare cards are available in various formats including magnetic stripe cards, contact smart cards and contactless smart cards. The fare cards may be purchased at automatic vending machines utilizing bills/coins, credit, and/or debit cards. The value of the card may be limited to the value of a single transit fare, or may exceed the value of a single transit fare so that the card may be used for multiple fares. A fare card having a value exceeding one transit fare offers an advantage of a single financial transaction for multiple rides. In addition, since the fare collection systems deduct value automatically for time and/or distance based fares, the rider does not need to compute exact fare amount as long as the amount on the card equals or exceeds the required fare, and thus, the time the rider spends at a fare card dispensing machine is shortened. Any monetary value remaining on the card is usable for a subsequent fare. Fare cards also offer the advantage of being reusable. The transit rider inserts a used card into an automatic fare vending machines along with a payment means including bills/coins, or credit/debit cards, and a corresponding added value is stored on the fare card.
Current automatic vending machines offer the above stated advantages of reuse of a smart card and quick transaction times. However, due to frequent use of the smart card, a transit patron is unlikely to know the exact amount on his or her card at any given time. In order to determine the value before attempting to pass through a transit gate, the patron must have access to a vending machine or another card reader. If the patron attempts to enter the gate without sufficient value in the smart card, he or she will be denied access to the transit system until value is added to the smart card. Thus, the patron will have to seek out a vending machine to add value to the smart card. During peak commuter hours, commuters are often faced with lines at the automatic fare vending machines.
The procedure of loading monetary value onto a smart card requires the patron to insert or wave the smart card past the vending machine to read the current value of the card. The patron then selects an action prompted by the vending machine to add monetary value to the card by either inserting cash into the vending machine conducting the transaction utilizing a credit card. The credit card transaction requires that the patron""s credit card be inserted into the vending machine. The vending machine then initiates a check through the credit card company to obtain approval to charge the requested amount. Once a monetary value is deposited into the vending machine or approved via credit, the patron must re-insert or wave the smart card by a target to have the requested value added to the smart card. The patron is then ready to utilize the smart card to gain access to the transit system. The extra time required to add value to the smart card, as well as the need to have cash or a credit card on hand at all time, is inconvenient for the patron and may cause undue delays for the patron in arriving at his or her destination.
Smart cards may also be utilized to support employee benefits programs that supply a set monetary value to be used by the employee each month for payment of transit fare. To receive the benefit, a patron must have the monetary value loaded onto the card at a transit vending machine. Thus, there is a potential for long patron queues waiting at transit vending machines at the beginning of each month. As the benefits program expands, and is made available to an increasing number of patrons, the vendor queues will become frustratingly longer.
Therefore, a need remains in mass transit systems to deploy a system feature that allows transit system patrons participating in transit programs to automatically load a monetary value onto their smart cards at the rail transit gates and/or bus fare boxes.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a system for automatically loading a monetary value onto a smart card.
It is another advantage to provide a the system which allow patrons to set up their smart cards for an autoload status and then simply allow them to use their smart cards without periodic reloads at the vending devices.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a system that is xe2x80x9cSelf Servicexe2x80x9d oriented for reloading monetary values on smart cards at transit gates, bus fare boxes, and other similar transit authority equipment, in order to reduce program administrative costs, including the costs associated with transit authority personnel and equipment.
Yet another advantage is to provide convenient payment vehicles, including credit cards and already-established employee benefits programs, at initial introduction of the system.
Still another advantage is to provide a system that automatically loads benefits to a patron""s smart card without requiring changes to the transit authority central computer and processing.
A further advantage is to provide a system that improves the transit patron""s security by eliminating the need for monetary transactions at a vending machine.
In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a transit system allows patrons to set-up their smart cards for an autoload function, also referred to herein as a xe2x80x9ccustomer administered autoloadxe2x80x9d system. The system for autoloading a smart card may be used to support all transit systems including rail systems and bus systems. The autoload feature of a transit system allows the transit patron to quickly refresh the value of his or her smart card by automatically billing the patron""s credit card account, or by automatically applying the patron""s employee benefits. Automatic loading of the monetary value may be exercised manually by the patron at a vendor, or automatically at gates or fare boxes which are set up to accept smart card transactions. As disclosed herein, gates are access control devices used in the rail system and fare boxes are access control devices used on buses. Automatic reloading at the gates or fare boxes allows transit patrons to use smart cards without having to periodically reload values onto their smart cards at the transit vending machines.
In the exemplary embodiment, the patron utilizes a vending machine or another transit facility for setting up the automatic load, i.e. xe2x80x9cautoloadxe2x80x9d feature. During the set-up process, the patron supplies credit card or other debit-type card information and a pre-approved monetary refresh value. The credit card information is then stored on the patron""s smart card. If a monetary value on the smart card does not cover a required fare, transit gates autoload the pre-approved monetary value to the smart card utilizing the credit/debit card information. In the exemplary embodiment, the patron may utilize more than one credit or debit vehicle. For example, if a patron is supplied with transit fare allowances through his or her employer, the patron may have a benefit of a line of credit for a set time period. The Customer administered autoload system may be set up to exhaust the benefit line of credit before utilizing the patron""s credit card information to initiate an add value procedure.
Implementation Approach. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the initial implementation of the customer administered autoload system provides transit patrons with instructions on how to setup the customer administered autoload at a transit vending machine. The customer administered autoload program of the exemplary embodiment is separate from other transit system programs because it requires a specific smart card technology. Thus, the patron must be supplied with an autoload-capable smart card which has a valid serial number that is recognized by the customer administered autoload system, only. In other embodiments, the customer administered autoload program is utilized by patrons that participate in other transit benefits programs, such that the autoload feature will only use the credit card as the payment vehicle when the benefits program allotment has been exhausted.
Set Up. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, setup for participation in customer administered autoload is offered to any patron at a transit vending machine. Conditions for participation in the autoload program may be required. For example, the smart card and/or patron must be registered with the transit authority, the smart card has been used in a credit transaction that has been approved, the current transaction meets a minimal price for either the product or value loaded, and/or the card expiration date is at least six months out. Certain conditions may prohibit the patron from either setting up the autoload function on his or her smart card or completing an autoload transaction. For example, the autoload smart card is either not set up for autoload, the credit card used in the current transaction is not the same one used to initially setup autoload, e.g., the primary account number, and expiration date, and/or the card is setup for autoload for a specific value or product, and the customer has asked for a different value or product.
In an exemplary method for setting up autoload on a smart card, a transit vending machine appends the registered smart card number to a credit card authorization request message (EUC6). The central computer sends a reply message (EUC2) to verify that the smart card is registered and has address data specified. The vendor applies the above criteria, and offers autoload to the patron as an option if the criterion is met. If the patron accepts the autoload option, one or two explanatory panels of data are presented on the vendor display explaining autoload and referencing the patron educational material. If the patron then verifies and accepts the option of autoload, the card is initialized for autoload.
The vendor initializes the smart card for autoload by setting an autoload bit on the smart card to xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d. In addition, the credit card Primary Account Number (PAN) and expiration date is recorded on the smart card as well as a specified product or value. The vendor sends a special fare card detail transaction data message (EU65) to the central computer which then documents the autoload setup. Since the patron is offered setup on the various conditions as discussed above, e.g., the credit card used in the current transaction is not the same one used to initially setup autoload, the process of changing to a different credit card is supported via the setup processing.
In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the smart card also may be initialized for autoload at a Point of Issue (POI) device. This allows the customer service of the transit authority to issue a smart card to the patron that is setup for autoload. This is of primary importance to bus only riders that may not have access to vending machines. A credit card autoload may also be accomplished at a transit vending machine. The autoload at a vending machine provides a quick transaction since the credit card is not required, and the overall time to complete the transaction is reduced.
Withdrawal from the Program. There are several options for withdrawal from the autoload program. A first option is for the patron to discontinue use of the smart card such that no further autoloads will be performed. The customer may also visit a transit authority vendor where he or she may request withdrawal from the autoload program. If withdrawal is requested, the vendor sets the autoload bit to xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d via a menu specification. The withdrawal request then is reported via an EUxx message element type (MET) to the central computer. The customer may also return the smart card to the Transit Authority where it can be reinitialized.
The Autoload Process. Once a smart card is initialized for autoload, the patron may use it as a xe2x80x9cnormalxe2x80x9d smart card. When the autoload-initialized smart card is presented at a gate or fare box, the patron-selected value or product will automatically be added to the card, providing the smart card meets the autoload criteria. The load will be documented as an autoload MET in an EU65 and maintained as part of the smart card transaction history. In the exemplary embodiment of the inventive method, the criteria for autoloading includes verifying that the autoload bit is set to xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d, verifying that the value of a value-based card has dropped below a specified level, and/or verifying that the expiration of a pass is within a set number of days or rides. In the exemplary embodiment, the autoload criteria is downloaded to the gates and fare boxes. Alternatively, the values used in the above criteria may be hardcoded at the processing device, i.e., the gates and bus fare boxes.
In addition to the normal EU65 transaction, the gate/bus fare box sends a force post message (EUC4) to the central computer to indicate that an autoload transaction occurred. The central computer recognizes the force post message (EUC4) as an autoload transaction and performs special processing. First, the central computer verifies whether the card holder participates in a benefits program. If the benefits program qualifies for the requested transaction, the value of the benefits program is utilized to satisfy part or all of the requested transaction. If the value of the benefits program is sufficient to satisfy all of the request, no further action is taken. Otherwise, the central computer transforms the force post into a credit authorization request. An approved credit authorization request prompts the central computer to create a confirmation entry in an autoload or a credit transaction database. A declined credit authorization request prompts the central computer to add the smart card number to a negative list.
Negative list. The negative list is utilized in a negative list process to initiate a xe2x80x9clast load recallxe2x80x9d rather than rejecting the card. This feature provides a less harsh response to an expired/bad credit card that is specified as the autoload vehicle. The negative list process includes setting the autoload enable bit to xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d and recalling the last product or value load performed.
Messages. The transit gate or fare box of the exemplary embodiment displays a variety of messages to the patron. For example, if a payment vehicle, e.g., the credit card, is within forty-five (45) days of expiration, each use of the autoload-initiated card will cause a warning message to be displayed to the patron at the transit gate or fare box. If the payment vehicle has expired, autoload will not be performed, and the patron will be refused entry when the value, the number of rides or the time for the pass is exhausted. If an autoload transaction is processed, the gate or fare box flashes a message indicating that the smart card has been autoloaded with a specified amount.
The following detailed description utilizes a number of acronyms. While definitions are typically provided with the first instance of each acronym, for convenience, a list of the acronyms and abbreviations used herein along with their respective definitions are shown below.